I have several "universal" bricks/wall warts with different approaches to "voltage configuration" and "plug configuration". But, they tend to be in different power/size categories.
E.g., the little guys in the "few watt, lower voltage" range vs. the larger ones intended more for folks who have lost their laptop power supply.
Sometimes, a voltage selector switch and a "dumb" removable "plug". Other times, a "smart plug" that selects the voltage for you ("Use the A plug for these laptop models; the B plug for these other models; the C...")
The programmable lab supply is just easier. Type in a voltage. Type in a current limit. Then stand back and see if the "device" does anything (other than get warm).
So, if I am testing an LCD monitor, gaming device, laptop or electronic organ, it's all the same...
I think its more fundamental than that! Laptops are typically considered disposable. So, serviceability and longevity don't enter into the design equation -- just price!
I absolutlety *hate* it when I encounter a really *nice* laptop with a problem. Because it puts pressure (self-inflicted) on me to *fix* it instead of scrapping it! Then begins the stressful task of trying to get it apart without breaking anything or doing any cosmetic damage. :<
ToughBooks are reasonably "easy" to work on -- as long as you don't drop any screws!
OTOH, one of *my* laptops has a flakey keyboard and I just keep tolerating it rather than deal with replacing it (and keyboards tend to be *easy* fixes!). I guess I am hoping I decide to discard it before that day comes :>
Sorry, I mean picking a connector for durability, etc. I can't believe there is much money to be save in the
*connector* choice!
Straight in can also be an issue on *side* entry. Set something down on/near it and you put a lot of vertical stress on it.
I think that was part of what the "twist lock" connectors I mentioned were designed to minimize (as well as preventing their accidental removal)
Ideally, an "air core" transformer design so there is no connector and no "hole" for materials to enter the device (liquids). But, that tends to put you in a lower power category.
I've seen similar damage as the "modem" connector is often adjacent to the "network" connector. As many folks (?) do things by feel, if you end up with the plug in the wrong connector, it *will* fit but will typically mangle the fingers on entry/withdrawal.
The latest crop of even high end laptops are essentially throw away devices that are very difficult to repair. These are not exactly low priced "commodity" laptops, but top of the line Apple products.
Since the local authorized Apple repair shop moved next door: I got to watch a display replacement on a 2012 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display. It was a major project, fairly difficult, and what I consider to be rather risky. Also, expensive (out of warranty).
Yep. I just gave away several Acer laptops with i3 processors simply to avoid the temptation to fix them. No matter how hard I try, it takes at least 2 hours total to tear them apart and put them back together. The problems are almost always the same lousy soldering on the BGA chips. The new "air" style of thin laptops favors poorly supported motherboards that flex nicely and break solder connections. It's not unusual to find SMT parts rattling around after a few weeks of customer abuse. Shock mounting is totally absent on most, resulting in plenty of impact fractures in MLCC caps. Many of the connectors are good for maybe 10 insertions before falling apart. I won't say anything about the Apple inspired square keyboards because I want to keep my blood pressure down.
It varies. Some model Toughbooks are great. Have several CF-25 Tougbooks that weigh a ton, but are built to survive an IED explosion. Same with several CF-M34 Toughbooks, that have a touch screen and the trademark magnesium case and frame. However, I recently had the displeasure of repairing the power jack on a CF-73. Instead of magnesium, it was mostly crumbly plastic. I was not impressed.
A worthy competitor in the tradition of the original Toughbooks: I've only torn apart one of them (to remove accumulated sand) and was impressed.
I've had good luck with alcohol and sudsy water baths, followed by hot air dry. Fixes soda pop sticky keys.
When the difference between making a big OEM sale is a few pennies, few manufacturers bother with such luxuries as reliability, durability, reparability. Price is what drives the sales.
Note that various vendors sell right angle power connector adapters. These really help. I have a rapidly disappearing bag of them sized for HP/Compaq adapter jacks. For example: (There are cheaper versions available).
Inefficient and lacking in power. Power is sufficient for charging a
5.5 watt-hr smartphone battery, but is insufficient to quickly charge a laptop with a 80-100 watt-hr battery. Duracell Powermat claims to charge a MacBook, but I haven't seen the device or found any numbers.
Also, I hate to think what will happen when the EMF exposure paranoids discover wireless charging.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
DCP-7, DCP-6, or DCP-5, $1.50 each at All Electronics? I have no idea if they are any good at not, just that they exist (found while doing research for earlier posts in this thread).
Standard disclaimers apply: I don't get money or other consideration from any companies mentioned.
Cover the lid of the laptop or backside of the tablet with PV solar cells. The "charger" will consist of a 60 watt 120 VAC to 12 VAC transformer and a sealed-beam headlight. :)
Apple has many patents covering magnetic power connectors: but they seem only cover connections between power supplies and electronic devices.
There are very different patents for magnet retained appliance cords, such as: It's probably one of these: (Note that inductive battery chargers are in separate patents.)
I assume that the magnetic connector between a power supply and laptop are well protected by an Apple patent and Apple's refusal to license the technology. However, building the AC adapter into the laptop, and licensing the deep fryer power cord patent should work.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
That's not the one used on many Dell laptops. Well, it might be but I can't tell without a photo showing the inside.
Here's a better photo of the unobtainable connector found on the common Dell PA-10/12 power supply: Note the length of the connector body: That's a long lever arm quite good at breaking jacks.
A square foot of solar cells should produce enough power to charge an
80 watt-hr laptop battery in umm... a few days. I don't want to calculate the overall efficiency for fear of losing my dinner. Besides, I want the space on the back side of the laptop lid for my high gain directional wi-fi patch antenna. Be the first on your block to dominate the coffee shop wi-fi.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I assumed JL just meant that autism results from "an anomaly present at birth".
You would call, say, an ugly lady ugly? To her face?
I don't think so. I am a bit of an introvert, I do find it hard to go up to someone at a party and introduce myself, say. But I think that falls a long way short of autism (and in fact saying so trivialises the condition).
I'm not, I was remarking purely on how "autism" seems to be used a lot as an insult here, when I have never heard it used that way anywhere else. And why is it that the people using it themselves do not appear -
*from their posts* - to be exactly highly socially skilled individuals.
I don't think all their *new* stuff comes with color-coded connectors, so it doesn't help in that case. I think it's one more way to try to prevent screw-ups in the store. To an untrained eye, a lot of the connectors look the same, and the only way to tell them apart on the shelf is by reading the part number on the backing card. Having them color-coded makes it more obvious that the various parts differ.
Usually the droids are trained to ask you to bring in your powered device so they can match the plug, but I think they also have a list of what adapters and tips to use for the more popular devices; if the catalog says "Adaptaplug Z, blue tip", it's faster for the droid to find it on the shelf. It also makes it easier to upsell to a multi- voltage adapter that has multiple tips, as long as it includes the one the customer really needs.
It also simplifies things like being able to tell a nontechnical person a couple of states away "go to Rat Shock and buy a 123-456 adapter and the green tip" to replace some mission-critical wall wart without a truck roll.
I don't work there or invest there; I just think that at least a little bit of thought has gone into the approach, which increases the chance that people can get the right parts. Shame about the prices, though.
I've seen one or two devices like that. One was a smallish wall-wart (like 1 watt or so output) that just had a co-ax jack on its housing, and a cable with co-ax plugs on both ends for the device.
In Germany, a lot of the holiday lights seem to run on low-voltage AC, and the standard for that seems to be that the wall-wart has a 2-pin DIN socket |- on the housing, with matching plug on the light string.
Yep. I secretly run People's Shining Transistor Factory #18. Did you know that a TO-92 fits inside a TO-3 shell really well? :)
Yeah, until semi-recently I had a circa-2007 Latitude that had one of those. I don't have it anymore or I'd measure the connector.
Thinking about it, all the non-Apple laptops I've used in the past few years had straight (not right angle) co-ax connectors. Maybe it's
*designed* to break jacks and sell new laptops. *adjusts hat*
I was recently in a sporting goods store, and one of the campstoves had a thermoelectric device you could hang on the side to charge your iThing. On one hand, it was kind of a slick package. On the other hand, if I did that kind of camping, I don't think I'd bring the iThing.
Maybe an LED headlight would help!
I already do that. CW is legal on all the bands, so I put a Vibroplex on my Radarange. Carrying the battery is a PITA, though.
Incidentally, when using metal vernier calipers to measure the barrel wall thickness, it's a good idea to unplug the charger first. I caught myself just before doing something really stupid.
Much as I like conspiracy theories, I don't think the intent was to break things. Whenever there's a change in design, I always lean back, press the "clear brain" button, and ask myself "What problem were they trying to solve"? In going to a larger diameter plug, they were probably looking for a more sturdy receptacle and wanted to use all the available space. Adding the center pin was a form of copy and liability protection, where only an approved charger would charge a given laptop battery. Going to a longer length jack was probably to give it an improved strain relief. Going from two thin wires to a large surface on the power connections was to increase the current capacity of the connector.
Unfortunately, some of these improvements caused more problems than they solved. The increased diameter made it difficult to fit in the shrinking thin laptops. The leverage offered by the longer length plug negated any improvements in receptacle strength. The lack of a right angle version made charging while operating somewhat of a challenge as the cord seemed to get in the way no matter where it was located. The lack of a replacement plug made the charger non-reparable.
My guess(tm) is that future connectors will be scaled to the size of the laptop. As laptops shrink, so will the power connectors. I would not be surprised to see a "flat" connector, similar to a standard USB connector, which fits through a slot in the side of the laptop. Perhaps a two pin connector in the fashion of an electric shaver power cord. Perhaps an exposed battery, where the charging connector fits into the battery, instead of the laptop. Or maybe just bypass the problem and use inductive coupling.
Hint: When not charging your laptop, use your charging station as a coffee warmer by adding an iron plate.
People bring their dogs camping, which is far worse than an iPhone. I think someone is probably working on an implantable headset and possible the entire smartphone.
I let my smartphone decode the Morse Code. There are better uses for my brain than to parse serialized data. Also note that using a microwave oven as a transmitter creates an "alligator", which is a beast with a big mouth and small ears. Your contrivance will have much for transmit range than receive range. I would consider it a jammer rather than a communications device, which implies a symmetrical communications range in both directions.
The battery is certainly a problem, but I have a propane powered steam generator that should supply sufficient power for a few QSO's until you're forcibly ejected from the coffee shop.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
The XLR connectors are not compact. But otherwise, they are good connectors. The pins are fat, lots of contact area, and the connector won't come out by accident.
For power, the cheap 3 pin ones are fine, just not idiot proof since someone might plug power into a sound board, hence the 4 pin variety. I have a calibrator that uses a 3 pin XLR on the low voltage scale.
There is that mini 3 pin XLR you find on some microphones.
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